Ecowatch reports that a Dutch start-up, The Great Bubble Barrier, has launched a barrier device to remove plastic from canals and rivers. At the current rate, marine plastic is predicted to outweigh all the fish in the seas by 2050.
The device consists of a pipe nearly 200 feet long that is punctured with holes and laid at the bottom of the canal. It sits at the canal bed on a diagonal line. Compressed air is pumped into the pipe, which then forms bubbles as it leaves. Since it is positioned diagonally, pieces of plastic are pushed toward the side of the canal by the bubbles. Then a floating platform captures the litter.
Preliminary tests of the project, which has taken three years, show that the device is capable of ushering 80 percent of the canal\’s plastic waste to its banks. Furthermore, it works 24 hours a day.